Apparatus for making metal bilged barrel-shells.



G. E. MITTINGER, JR. APPARATUS FOR MAKING METAL BILGBD BARREL SHELLS.

APPLICATION FILED MAR. 9, 1912.

Patented Oct. 29, 1912.

3 SHEETSSHEET 1.

3 wuemtoz wi bwwom A G. E. MITTINGER, JR- APPARATUS FOR MAKING METAL BILGBD BARREL SHELLS.

APPLIGATION FILED MAR. 9, 19 12.

Patented Oct. 29, 1912.

3 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

3 SHEETS-SHEET 3.

G. E. MITTINGBR, Jn. APPARATUS FOR MAKING METAL BILGBD BARREL SHELLS.

APPLICATION FILED MAR. 9, 1912.

g a l L uzmtov 1712;

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

GEORGE EUGENE MITTINGER, JR., OF- NEW CASTLE, PENNSYLVANIA.

AYPA RATUS FOR MAKING METAL BILGED BARREL-SHELLS.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Oct. 29,1912.

Application filed March 9, 1912.- Serial Ito. 682,832.

Apparatus for Making Metal Bilged Barrel-Shells, of which the following is a specifi cation, reference being had therein to the accompanying drawing.

My invention relates to improvements 1n apparatus for making metal bilged barrel shells, and is particularly adapted for forming the shell from a. sheet of cold metal.

The primary object of this invention is to provide an apparatus by means of which a bilged metal barrel shell can be produced by two operations. a

My improved apparatus for forming sheet metal bilged barrel shells, comprises dles used in the first operation that are so shaped that two parallel curved and bilged bends are formed, which contain a curved'andbilged area equal to the major portion of the completed shell (preferably about threefourths) and to form an inverse bend between and extending, longitudinally of the two-said parallel bends, thesedies forming what I term an initial blank.

My improved apparatus involves also dies so shaped as to upset the. above mentioned inverse bend and give it a curve and bilged shape corresponding to the curve and bilged shape of the finished barrel shell and s multaneously with the shaping of the inverse bend bringing the ends of the parallel bilged bends together, thus completing the barrel shell, ready to have its edges suitably I united by lock seaming or otherwise, and

ready to receive suitable heads for making the completed barrel.

My present invention pertains only to the forming of what I term an initial blank and then forming this initial blank into what I term a bilged barrel shell. The seaming or uniting of the edges of this barrel shell may be accomplished in any one of several known ways, and the heads may be applied to this shell in any suitable manner without aifecting my invention which, as stated, isthe forming of a bilged barrel shell.

Referring now to the drawings, in which like; reference characters designate the same parts-Figure 1 is a perspective view of one form of the dies for forming the initial blank, which is the first step in the forming of the bilged barrel shell,'the sheet of metal to be acted on being shown in dotted lines. Fig. 2 is a perspective of the initial blank. Fig. 3 is a top plan view of the initial blank. Fig; 4.- is a perspective view of the dies'for practising the second step in forming the bilged barrel shell, the initial blank shown in position in respect thereto. Fig. 5 is a perspective view of the dies for the second step, after they have'acted upon the initial blank and showing the bilged barrel shell. Fig. 6 13a perspective view of one of the ends of the male die for the first step and showing a fold 'distributer which is advantageous in forming all sizes of bilged barrel shells, and essential when forming'the ordinary and larger sizes of bilged barrel shells. Fig. 7 is aview taken longitudinally through the center of the dies for forming one of the parallel bends in the sheet of metal, the sheet of metal and dies shown at the beginning of the formation stroke. Fig. 8 is a similar view,;the' sheet of metal andthe dies having reached the sition where thedies I begin to form the bllges in the two longi-- tudinal bends of the sheet. Fig. 9 is a transverse sectional view taken through the cen-' ter of Fig. 7." Fig. 10 is an end view of a modified form of maledie, which is used in the second step in forming the bilged barrel shell. I

The form of dies, shown in Figs. 1, 4:, and

5, is such as may be used in forming small.

bilged barrel shells, or which might be used in forming a larger size barrel, if it isnot essential that the ends of tically freeof folds.

In Figs. 6 to 10, I illustrate the preferred type or form of dies by means of which an desired practical-size, of bilged barrel she can be produced, with practically smooth the shells be pracends.

Reference will first be made in the description to Figs. 1 to 5, inclusive, and in which 1 is a female die having two parallel curved 'die' recesses 2 having bilged. portions 3, and a central longitudinal projection 4. This projection 4, graduallyincreases inwidth from its endsto its center forming an enlarged central portion 5. That portion of each of the recesses 2, approximately lying between the points a, b, is formed on a curve and bilge to correspond with the curve and ilo bilge of the barrelshe'll to be produced,

while the projection 4 takes that position of.

the diebetween 'b, 6, out ofs'uch curve and said dies, as shown in Fig. 2.

into the recesses of the die 1, thus forming What I term an initial blank 10, which corresponds in shapeto the shape of the afore- This initial blank may or may not have the flanges 11 (shown in dotted. lines) according to whether the barrel is to have a lock seam; a

lap seam or some other form of seam. If

the barrel is to have a lock seam, the initial.

blank will-be formed with-these flanges 11, which, when the shell is completed, are

brought together, as shown in Fig. 5, and

these flanges will then be formed into a lock scam in any desired manner, and this seam may be either left on the outside of the shell, or it may be forced through the inner side of the shell, both of said seamingsbeing old and well-known to those skilled in this art and need not be illustrated or further described. Y

Referring now to the initial blank in Fig. 2,- 2 indicatesthe parallel curved bends; 3

the bilged portions; 4 the recess 0r groove formed by the, inverse bend; and'5 indicates the central widened portionof the inverse bend, which gradually widens from its ends to the center thereof. This initial blank, like the die recesses 2 of the die 1, has that portion between the parts a, b,formed on a curve and a bilge corresponding to the curve and bilge of the bilgedbarrel shell or the barrel, while that portion between I), b, is not of the same shape, but is in the form of an inverse bend. a

Thus far I have described the first operation in forming the bilged barrel shell, and the second step which completes the bilged barrel shell will now be explained.

Referring particularly to Fig. 4, 12 is a female die, which has a curved and bilged recess of a shape corresponding to the curve and bilge of the barrel shell to be produced and is preferably approximately of an area corresponding to about half the external area of the completed barrel shell. In effecting this second step, the initial blank 10 is placed on the die 12 with the inverse bend '4 directly over the center'of the.die, and

a male die 14 engages the top of this inverse bend 4, as illustrated in Fig. 4.- For the purpose of. centralizing the initial blank over the die 1 2 andcausing it.to properly enter the die as it is forced therein by the male die 14, I provide a positioning member 20, which is a bar. This bar has attached thereto supporting and guiding rods 21 that move downward through the die 12 against the tension of springs, and this bar is of a shape to fit in a longitudinal recess 23, formed in the bottom of the die recess 13. .The upper surface (not shown) of this bar is of such shape that when the bar is in the recess 23, it corresponds with and completes the curved and bilged shape of the recess 13 and leaves the surface unbroken. As the male die 14 descends, it carries the inverse bend 4 down into the die recess13 and forms it into a curved and. bilged shape, corresponding to the bilge and curve of the completed barrel shell, and this action simultaneously brings the outer edges of the parallel bends 2 together, as shown in Fig. 5, thus completing the second operation of the bilged barrel shell.

When forming a' full size and larger barrel with this apparatus, and when the dies 1 and 6 have reached to the point shown in Fig. 8, so that the bilge of the die 6 is in a plane with the ends 25 of the recess 2 of the die 1, and as the die 6 continues downward to form the bilge in the sheet, there is a tendency to the forming of folds in the metal at the ends of the dies. As the male die moves downward, the edges of the sheet are drawn inward to furnish the additional metal. required for the bilge and this provides a surplus amount of metal at the ends of the molds and sheet and this surplus metal, in practice, is found to form into two decided folds, which is objectionable in a barrel and, in some instances, this fold will double over and make four thicknesses of metal, which will prevent the male die from moving down into the female die the required distance to form the proper bilge in the sheet. .I have discovered that this excess metal at the ends of the sheet and the mold can be so uniformly distributed throughout the end of the bends in the sheet that it is made manifest only in slightly perceptible and entirely unobjectionable waves, which will not interfere in any manner with the tight fitting of heads in the barrel and otherwise completing it into a perfect bilged barrel. This uniform distribution of the metal at the ends'of the bends, I accomplish by what I term metal fold distributers carried by and forming a part of the dies. These metal fold distributers may be carried by either the male or female die, but, as here shown,they are carried by the male die as illustrated at 26. These metal fold distributers are, in fact, advance receding end porare held projected by suitable strong and preferably adjustable springs 27. Referring now to Figs. 7 and 8, it will be noted that these metal fold distributers 26 are in advance of the ends of the molds and are in a plane with the bilge 3 of the maledie, and

as shown in Fig. 7 they serve an additional function of engaging the edges of the sheet 9 at the same time that the bilge 3 engages the metal which insures the sheet being carried downward uniformly throughout its. width into the recesses 2 of the die 1, until the edges of the metal 9 engage the ends 25 of the recesses 2. At this point the metal fold distributers 2h begin to perform their functions of'taking care of the excess metal and disturbing the tendency to fold 'uni formly throughout the bendsof the sheet. When the dies have reached the point indcated in Fig. 8, further movement there begins to form the bilge and additional metal is required and is drawn inward from the edges of the sheet and, as above stated, this causes the excess of metal at the ends of the sheet. I have discovered in practice that under the fold distributors 26 sufficiently to provide the additional metal required by the longitudinal formation of the bilge, I am inclined to believe that this movement of the metal under the fold distributers 26, assists 1n uniformly distributing, smoothing out and preventing any objectionable waves or folds in the edges or ends of the bends in the blank. It will'be understood, of course, that after the dies .have reached the point indicated in Fig. 8, the die 6 moves inward independent of the fold distributers, the fold dis-- tributers being in effect the receding portlons of the die 6.

It is necessary that the dies for the second .step be provided with fold distributers for their function in the same manner as ex plained in respect to the fold ,distributers 26, whichhas already been fully described.

By reference to Figs. 1 and 2, it will be seen that the top of the projection 5, of the female die 1, is in a plane below the outer edges of the recess 2, when the projection 5 is maderigid .with the die. By reason of this fact, the sheet of metal 9 when placed in position to be formed is not in engagement with the projection when the male die 6 begins to form the initial blank. When the die 6 begins to descend and the sheet of metal is being carried into the recesses 2, the edges of the sheet metal are drawn in ward and in order to form a perfect blank, it must move equally from both edges. To effect this result, I make the upper portion 29 of the projection 5 movable and hold it projected by strong springs 30, so that its top is in a plane with the outer edges 31 of the recesses 2. This causes a central friction between the sheet and the projection 29' and, in practice, will cause the sheet to move inward uniformly and equally from both edges. Whenthe die 6 has reached the full limit of its movement, the movable top 29 of the projection 5, will be forced down and its top will be in a plane below the plane of the outer edges 31 of the recesses 2.

Referring now to Figs. 4 and 5, it will be noted that the male die'14 is provided with apressure beam 17 and that one leg 18 of this pressure beam is hinged so that it would swing outward. The object of this is to permit the removal of the completed bilge barrel shell 16. The lower end of the swinging leg 18 is preferably held in position by any suitable form of latch I The springs which project the fold dist'ributers are made sufficiently strong to hold them projected against the sheet of metal as the male die enters the female die, and are thus sufiiciently strong to bend the metal to the shape of the fold distributers and these distributers combine with the end curves of the female die recesses to shape the metal corresponding to the shape of the ends of the said mold recesses and the fold distributers.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim and desire to secure by Letters Patent is:

1. In mechanism for making bilged barrel shells, the combination with means for. forming a sheet metal blank having two parallel approximately semi-circular bends having bilged portions between their ends and acentral longitudinal projection widened from its ends to its center, of means for upsetting the said projection and shaping it into a bilge corresponding with the bilge of said parallel bends.

2. An apparatus for forming initial blanks for bilged barrel shells, comprising a female die having parallel curved die recesses having their bottoms and outer sides curved. and bilged to correspond with the curve and bilge of the barrel shell and a central projection, to form an initial blank adapted to have its central inverse bend upset and bilged to correspond to the bilge of the completed barrel shell.

3. In an apparatus of the character described, a female die having a recess with a central bilged portion forming a relatively small curved end, one of said dies having projected receding 'fold distributers at its ends for the purpose described.

4. In an apparatus of the character described, a female die having two parallel die recesses each having a central bilged portion forming relatively small curved ends, a male die having two bilged projections shaped to coact with the said female die, one of said dies having at'each end pro- I j eeted receding fold distributers for the pur pose described.

5. In an'apparatus of the character described, a female die havinga die recess with a bilged central portion forming relatively small curved ends, a male die shaped to eo-act therewith, one of said dies having projected receding metal fold distributers at its ends, said distributers having a shape corresponding to the shape of the ends of the mold recess with which they co-act.

6. In an apparatus of the character described, a female die having a mold recess with the bilged central portion forming relatively smallcurved ends, a male die hav-- ing a bilged portion to co-act with the said female die, the male die having projected receding ends shaped to co-act with the ends of the femaledie to form folddistributers as described.

7. In an apparatus of the character described, a female die having parallel curved bilged recesses and a central longitudinally extending projection, the said projection having a receding top normally projected in a plane with'the outeredges of the said parallel recesses, for the purpose described.

8. In an apparatus of the character described, the combination of a female die having parallel curved bilged recesses and a longitudinally central projection, said proing a female die having two parallel recesses, said recesses having their bottoms and outer sides curved and bilged to correspond with the curve and bilge of the completed barrel shell, and a central projection gradually widened from its ends to its center, and an initial male die shaped to co-act with the female die to form an initial blank corresponding to the shape of said dies, whereby said blank is adapted to be formed into a completed bilged barrel shell.

10. In an apparatus for the purpose described, a female die having a curved and bilged recess forming reduced curved ends, a male die of a shape to co-act therewith, one of said dies carrying metal fold distributers co-acting with the reduced end portions to distribute the metal and preventthe formation of folds therein as the metal is pressed into the bilge of the female die.

11. In an apparatus for the purpose described, a female die having two parallel recesses, said recesses having their bottoms and outer sides curved and bilged to correspond with the 'curve and bilge of the completed barrel shell, and a central projection shaped to cause thesheet metal blank to have more metal at the center of the projection formed therein in the blank, and a male die shaped to fit into the female die to form a blank adapted to be converted into a bilged barrel shell by upsetting and bilging the central projection of the blank.

In testimony whereof I hereunto afiix my signature in the presence of two witnesses. GEORGE EUGENE MITTINGER, JR. l/Vitnesses J. M. MARTIN, HOMER C. DRAKE. 

